Spicy mushroom, walnut and caramelised onion cabbage rolls
- Prepare
- overnight
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4
Cabbage is having a moment and when it's this delicious you'll know why. Freezing and thawing the cabbage tenderises the leaves and makes them much easier to work with.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 tbsp oil (vegetable or olive oil)
- 3 onions, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra if needed
- 350g/12oz chestnut mushrooms, chopped into 1cm/½in chunks
- 125g/4½oz shiitake mushrooms, stems finely sliced and caps chopped into 1cm/½in chunks
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1½ tbsp gochujang
- 60g/2¼oz walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce, plus extra if needed
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar, plus extra if needed
- salt
For the rolls
- oil, for oiling
- 1 head white cabbage, frozen whole overnight and thawed for a few hours
For the braising sauce
To garnish
- toasted sesame seeds
- gochugaru, red pepper flakes or dried red chilli flakes
- spring onions, green tops only, finely sliced
Method
To make the filling, heat a splash of oil in a wide lidded frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, a splash of water and a pinch of salt.
Cook slowly with the lid on for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly, until very soft (if the onions start to stick or burn, add a little more water and lower the heat). Remove the lid, add a pinch of the sugar and cook for another 5–10 minutes, or until golden-brown, sweet and jammy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Cook the chestnut and shiitake mushrooms with a pinch of salt over a medium-high heat until the mushrooms have released their moisture and begin to brown.
Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the gochujang and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the walnuts, return the caramelised onions to the pan and stir well until combined.
Add the soy sauce, vinegar and the remaining sugar and cook for 1–2 minutes. Taste then add more soy sauce, vinegar or sugar, if preferred.
To make the rolls, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Grease a baking dish or roasting tin with oil.
Carefully remove the cabbage leaves layer by layer. Trim the woody stems a little if untidy. Lay the cabbage leaves flat on a clean tea towel to dry slightly.
Spoon a generous line of filling along the base of a cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides, then roll up firmly but gently. Repeat with the remaining leaves. There should be enough filling for 10–12 rolls.
To make the braising sauce, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.
Arrange the rolls seam-side down in the baking dish. Pour over the braising liquid and roast for 25–30 minutes, or until tender and turning golden.
Garnish with the sesame seeds, chilli flakes and spring onion tops. Serve hot, spooning over any juices from the baking dish.
